Follower for trunks or paceing boxes



(No Model.)

K. L. KARO. FOLLOWER FOB TRUNKS 0R PACKING BOXES.

No. 401,489. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.1.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

KING LOUIS KARO, OF \VASIHNGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FOLLOWER FOR TRUNKS OR PACKING-BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,439, dated April 16, 1889.

Application filed October 2, 1888. $erial No. 286,993. (No model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, KING Louis KARO, of Wash in gton, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertainnewandusefullmprovements in Followers for Trunks or Packing-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in followers for trunks and packing-boxes.

The obj ect is to providealight, simple, and inexpensive follower which may be quickly and easily fitted to any trunk or packing-box, and which will retain its position with certainty, and form an efiective stop to the shifting of the articles'packcd beneath it.

With these ends in View my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows the follower in position within a trunk, one of its positions during adjustment being represented in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the follower. Figs. 3 andet represent some of the different forms in which the follower may be made, and Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged detail views of the ratchet and portion of the end of the follower in engagement therewith.

A represents the bottom, and B the ends, of a trunk orpacking-box. To the inside walls of the ends 13 vertical series of ratchetnotches C are secured. The notches G are preferably formed by the bending or pressing of a strip of sheet metal-galvanized sheet-iron, or tin, for exampleinto the proper form, which may then be tacked or screwed to the wall of the trunk. The upper walls, 0, of the notches C are formed slightly concave, in order to receive and retain with greater certainty the end of the holding-dog of the follower.

The follower consists of a frame, D, which may be wholly formed of wire, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, or partly of wire and partly of wood, as shown in Fig. at. The frame D con forms in a general manner to the horizontal section of the trunk-walls, and at one or both of its ends it bent inwardly on opposite sides of the middle portion, (1, as shown at d, in order to admit of its being grasped by the fingers. A dog, (1 formed either of wire or sheet metal, is loosely mounted on the end of the frame, as shown, to engage the coi'icave walls of the notches O. The frame D is provided with strips of webbing, E, secured transversely thereof to hold the articles down at the middle portion, and the frame itself may be covered with some fabric, or it may be plated or galvanized.

The follower may be adjusted by pressing down the clothing or material in the box at one end and inserting one end of the follower in the notch, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The free end may then be pressed down, the dog following into engagement with the notches and slipping over the several teeth which separate the notches until it reaches the notch desired.

To release the follower it is simply grasped by two or more fingers at the inwardly-bent portions d and pressed downwardly to enable the dog to be thrown out of engagement with the notches.

The cross-strips of webbing will have the effect when pressed upwardly by the clothing or the like underneath to spring the middle portions of the ends outwardly, and hence hold the dog more securely in the notches.

In Fig. t the frame D is composed of wood,

and the spring-wire D extends partially down the sides and across one end in the same manner as in the form hereinabove explained, the spring-wire D taking the place of the dog (1 and yielding enough to allow it to slide over the notches.

The followers as thus constructed may be made in various sizes and shapes to suit trunks and boxes of various descriptions, and may be kept in stock to suit the demands. They are light, durable, and quite inexpensive, and serve the purpose to perfection, and when employed as partitions to separate the contents of the trunk or packing-box into sections, as is often desirable, they occupy no appreciable packingspace, simply the thickness of the webbing-strips.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and construction of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a trunk or packing-box provided with series of ratchet-notches on its inner walls, of a follower, the end of the follower adjacent to one of the series of ratchet-notches having a horizontally-yielding movement for engaging and disengaging said notches, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, With a trunk or packing-box provided with series of ratchet-notches on its opposite inner walls, the upper walls of the notches being concave, of a follower having a horizontally-yielding end adapted to engage the concave walls of the notches, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described follower, consisting of aframe formed of Wire having strips of Webbing stretched across it, and a dog pivoted on one end of the frame, in combination with a series of ratchet-notches secured to the inner wall of a trunk or box, substantially as set forth.

4E. The herein-described follower, consisting of a frame formed of wire having portions of its end bent inwardly, a dog loosely mounted on one end of the frame, and transverse strips of webbing stretched across the frame, in combination with a series of ratchet-notches secured to the inner wall of a trunk or box, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

KINGv LOUIS KARO. WVitnesses: Y

E. O. S ARD, I. A. FAIRGRIEVE. 

